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MG MGB Technical - front wheel bearing assy

Hi
I have a 77BGT and am refurbishing the front suspension. Now I have separated the hub from the disc ( to be replaced) I find that the large spacer and bearing encased inside the hub. Is it a difficult job to remove what looks like a rubber seal bearing cover keeping it all inside ?
All the drawings and books I've looked at don't show an inside rubber oil seal.
Should both bearings be replaced as a matter of course ?

Any comments would be appreciated.
Paul Liles

Hi Paul, I have a 77 B roadster - wire wheels. Just done wheel bearings both sides at the front, so I know the conundrum - I did not attempt to remove the bearing spacer (Haynes Manual).I could not budge it and it was perfectly smooth. Just replaced the inner hub and outer hub bearings and seals. I knocked the old seal behind the brake disc out with a flat screw driver - very gently. Look at the diagrams at 'Moss Europe' (no relation what-so-ever) or the Haynes Manual. Very helpful for getting a good overview on parts. Hope you can use the experience. Regards Moss
JRB Moss

Paul. From inside to outside you have the rubber grease seal (remove by prying it up carefully--replace with a new one), the inner wheel bearing (remove the race it rides in with a drift) and its race, the spacer, shims for the spacer, the outer wheel bearing and race (remove the race with a drift), the large washer, castellated nut, and a cotter pin (split pin) to hold it together. Paul Hunt has a good tech article on setting up the bearing system on his website, The Pages of Bee and Vee. For me, having a dial indicator (clock gauge) the factory method works best.

As to whether to replace the bearings and races, that is a good question. Many of the parts available today are not of the quality of the original parts. Thus, best to clean the bearings and races, then inspect for signs of heating (blueing on the race or bearing rollers), signs of wear (scrape marks and pock marks) visually. If the bearings look good, place them in the races and, with light finger pressure, turn the bearing in the race. If you feel any roughness, replace the bearing and race (which come as a package, one of each).

New parts are an interesting item of discussion. When I recently had to replace the bearings on my trailer, the old ones were made in China and Romania. The replacements, of the same brand, were made in the US.

Les
Les Bengtson

I changed my wheel bearings simply becuase I have no history concerning when they were last changed and as the break discs had to be changed anyway (could not be refurbished - too thin), so decided to do the bearings at the same time. May as well. As for the originals - doubt very much mine were original - the car is after all from 1977! As it turns out after cleaning them they are fine and not original - so they can be kept for next time...if need be! Moss
JRB Moss

My '67 has the original Timken bearings it left the factory with. I've cleaned and re-packed them 3 times over the 38 years that I have owned the car. If you clean the bearings in solvent and follow the advice given above, you may well find that they are original and can be re-used again. However, always replace the inboard grease seal. Failing to do so is false economy. RAY
rjm RAY

I wish I had kept the originals. I replaced mine at 90k miles and have had to swap them again since, one side twice, in the last 30K Its such a fiddle to do as well and you have to remember where you left the dial guage.
Stan Best

The oil (grease) seal is definitely shown in my issues of Haynes (page 205 item 69) and the Workshop Manual (page K4 item 69) and is definitely required, it keeps the dirt and water out and the grease in.

I've only changed bearings when changing the hubs from stud to wire, there seemed more effort and risk drifting the races out of the old one than simply buying new for how much they cost. I did have to replace one side of those after a few thousand miles (a la Stan), but other than that no problems with them in 50k in one car and 80k on another. Unless there is obviously something wrong with them - crunching, squeaking, or blued now you can see the races, leave them alone. Re pack the smaller outer bearing, the larger inner doesn't usually need redoing as centrifugal force chucks grease up that end anyway. Patiently press grease into the caged rollers a bit at a time and keep going till it starts oozing out the other side, be patient. Don't be tempted to press a bit in from each side or you will trap air and have insufficient grease. You can also press a bit more into the space between the oil seal and the inner bearing, but don't pack the space between the bearings. Make sure you get the shims in the right place i.e. between the spacer and the smaller outer bearing. The process for setting end-float (if it needs changing) Les mentions is here http://www.mgb-stuff.org.uk/suspensiontext.htm#endfloat.
PaulH Solihull

Went back to check again name on the wheel bearings after reading rmj Ray's thread - and found mine are also from 'Timken Ltd'. If they are the originals then amazing when consodering the age of car and forces at play when in motion.
Moss
Moss

All the wheel bearings in our cars should be standard sizes... You do not have to buy them from a specialist MG parts supplier..
If you go to your local bearing supplier you should have a good range of brands, prices, countries of manufacture to choose from!
Just take in the ones to be replaced and they will find what you need...
James Finlayson

This thread was discussed between 17/09/2010 and 18/09/2010

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